Van Halen Fair Warning Guitar Tabs

"Dirty Movies" Guitar Tab

"Dirty Movies"
By Van Halen (from Fair Warning)
Tabbed by Aaron Goldman
I noticed there was no tab to be found for this song, and since it's one
of my favorite VH album tracks, I decided to figure it out. As always,
this is by my own ears, so its not gonna be perfect. Note that the song is
in drop D, and then on top of that it's tuned down half a step. There are
two guitars in this song, referred to throughout as rhythm and lead.
INTRO: its just bass and drums at first, and then Eddie start drumming a
bunch of random notes up and down the fretboard (too hard to transcribe,
and its just random noise anyway). This part is easier to simulate than
you might think. After that subsides, the lead guitar plays this:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------10---10---10b-10----
G|-7\6~-/7-6-7-/9~-6-7-6----------7/9-----9----9--------9--
D|-----------------------7-5-5br---------------------------
A|---------------------------------------------------------
D|---------------------------------------------------------
The next two lines are played together. They aren't precisely aligned in
the tab. The top guitar is rhythm, the bottom lead.
E|--------------------------------------------
B|--------------------------------------------
G|--------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------------------------
A|------------------------------3-2-1-0-------
D|--------------------------------------3-2-1-
E|----------------------------------------19b-
B|-14-14-14-15-15-16-16-17-17-18-18-19-19-----
G|--------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------------------------
CHORUS RIFF:
The following rhythm guitar part is reused several times later on.
Occasionally, a few of the notes on the low D-string are replaced with
a series of scraping noises, produced with the picking hand. I don't know
how to explain it, but Eddie does the same thing on "Unchained" and the
beginning of "And the Cradle Will Rock."
Rhythm: (x2)
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------5------5-5/7--------------------
D|---7------7---------5-----5--------3------3-3/5--------------------
A|---5------5-0-2p0---3-----3--------------------------3-2-1-0-------
D|-0----0-0---------3---0-3----0-2-3----0-3--------0-5---------3-2-1-
Lead: (x2)
E|-14~-------14~-------14h15-14-14p12-------12~-15-----12---------
B|-----15--------15-------------------13-----------15-----13------
G|--------14--------14-------------------12------------------12\--
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------/x-
B|-13-------13~-------13-13/15~-------/15--17b-17b-17b-17b-17b-17b----
G|----14-----------14-----------16------------------------------------
D|-------15-----15-----------------17---------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE: (Rhythm Guitar only)
E|-----------------------------------------------
B|------------------------------------6-------8\-
G|----------------------------------5-------7----
D|----------------3------------x-/3-----3/5------
A|-2br-0-3--2~-3----5--2br-0-3-------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------
D|----------------3----------------------
A|-2br-0-3--2~-3----5--2br-0-3--3-2-0----
D|------------------------------------3~-
PRECHORUS PART 1: ("her movies get down," etc.)
Rhythm:
E|-------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------------
G|-------------------------------------------------
D|-x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--
A|-x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--
D|-x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--x-10-10/12-x-8-x-8-x-8--
Lead:
E|-----------------------------------
B|----------------10-----------------
G|-----9-9-9/10------12-10-12-9br----
D|-/12----------------------------12-
A|-----------------------------------
D|-----------------------------------
PRECHORUS PART 2: ("they won't believe it," etc.)
Rhythm:
E|-------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------
G|-------------------------------------------
D|-x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--
A|-x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--
D|-x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--x-7-7/8-x-7-x-8-x-5--
Lead:
E|------------------------------------
B|------------------------------------
G|-2-2/3--2-2-2/3----2-2/3--2-2-2/3---
D|----------------5-----------------5-
A|------------------------------------
D|------------------------------------
PRECHORUS PART 3: (Rhythm Guitar only; "come see baby now")
E|----------------------------------------------
B|----------------------------------------------
G|-2-3-3--2-3-5--2-3-/5\4\2---------------------
D|----------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------3-2-1-0-------
D|----------------------------------------3-2-1-
CHORUS #1: play the chorus rhythm guitar from earlier, plus the following
lead guitar part twice (this part basically just doubles the root notes
of the chords an octave higher):
E|-------------------------
B|--------------/6~~--/8~~-
G|--/7~~--/5~~-------------
D|-------------------------
A|-------------------------
D|-------------------------
VERSE #2: play the verse riff as before
PRECHORUS #2: play the first two prechoruses and then:
E|----------------------------
B|----------------------------
G|-2-3-3--2-3-5--2-3-/5\4\2---
D|----------------------------
A|----------------------------
D|----------------------------
INTERLUDE #1:
E|----------------------------------------------------
B|-----3-3-----5---------------------3-3----------3-3-
G|-----2-2-----4---------------------2-2----------2-2-
D|-x\--0-0-x---2-x-------------------0-0----------0-0-
A|-x\--0-0-x---2-x-2-0--0-2-0--0-2-2-0-0--0-2-2-0-0-0-
D|-----0-0---0-2-x-2-0--0-2-0--0-2-2-0-0--0-2-2-------
E|------------------------------------------------10--9-------------
B|---------------------------------------------10-------10----------
G|----7---7------9-------7---------7---7----/9-------------9~-b--r--
D|-/7---7---7-/9---9-------7----/7---7------------------------------
A|-------------------9-7-----7~----------7~-------------------------
D|------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERLUDE #2: neither guitar plays anything for a while, and then the
rhythm guitar leads into the second chorus with:
E|---------------
B|---------------
G|---------------
D|---------------
A|-3-2-1-0-------
D|---------3-2-1-
CHORUS #2: play the chorus rhythm guitar (without lead)
PRECHORUS #3: play the second and third prechorus segments
CHORUS #3:
Rhythm:
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------5------5-5/7--------------------
D|---7------7---------5-----5--------3------3-3/5--------------------
A|---5------5-0-2p0---3-----3--------------------------3-2-1-0-------
D|-0----0-0---------3---0-3----0-2-3----0-3--------0-5---------3-2-1-
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------5------5-5/7----x-4p2-----------------
D|---7------7---------5-----5--------3------3-3/5----------3-x-7p5---------
A|---5------5-0-2p0---3-----3--------------------------------------7-x-3p2-
D|-0----0-0---------3---0-3----0-2-3----0-3--------0-----------------------
Lead:
E|-14~-------14~-------14h15-14-14p12-------12~-15-----12---------
B|-----15--------15-------------------13-----------15-----13------
G|--------14--------14-------------------12------------------12\--
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------/x-
B|-13-------13~-------13-13/15~-------/15--17b-17b-17b-17b-17b-17b----
G|----14-----------14-----------16------------------------------------
D|-------15-----15-----------------17---------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-14~-------14~-------14h15-14-14p12-------12~-15-----12---------
B|-----15--------15-------------------13-----------15-----13------
G|--------14--------14-------------------12------------------12\--
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------
B|-13-------13~-------13-13/15~-------/15--------------------
G|----14-----------14-----------16---------------------------
D|-------15-----15-----------------17------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------
OUTRO: play verse riff, substituting the final 4 notes with:
E|--------------------------------------
B|-1-0----------------------------------
G|-----3-2-1-0--------------------------
D|-------------3-2-1-0------------------
A|---------------------3-2-1-0----------
D|-----------------------------3-2-1----
And that's the end of the song.